1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to musical instruments, and more particularly to mouthpieces for brass wind musical instruments.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various kinds of brass wind musical instruments have been in existence for centuries. They range in size from small cornets to large euphoniums and tubas. Brass wind musical instruments are invariably made from brass material. They may be coated with clear lacquer, in which case the instrument retains its brass color. Some instruments are plated with gold or silver. The different brass instruments produce different notes along the musical scale, as well as different overtones peculiar to the particular instrument.
Every brass wind musical instrument requires an appropriate mouthpiece. The mouthpiece fits into the instrument receiver or leadpipe. The musician presses his lips against the mouthpiece. By properly positioning his embouchure and blowing into the mouthpiece, the lips vibrate. The blown air causes lip vibrations that are transferred via the mouthpiece to the instrument, which produces sounds characteristic of that instrument.
Mouthpieces for brass wind musical instruments are usually made as a single component that is annular in shape and symmetrical about a longitudinal axis. Typical prior mouthpieces may be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,969,280 and Des. 358,161. However, multi-component mouthpieces are also known, as is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,395,933. U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,673 shows a mouthpiece that is asymmetrical about a longitudinal axis.
The DEG Company of Lake Geneva, Wis., manufactures a two-piece musical mouthpiece that has a plastic cup and a metal shank. The surface finish of the cup, which was usually a nylon or Delrin material, was relatively rough compared with metal mouthpiece cups. That disadvantage, plus the expense of manufacturing and assembling two components, limited the popularity of the prior two-material mouthpiece.
Prior brass wind musical mouthpieces were almost always machined from brass and then plated with gold or silver. In addition to being heavy and expensive, the prior metal mouthpieces, especially those with silver plating, could not be used by persons who were allergic to the particular metal.
Another important characteristic of prior mouthpieces was that whatever the material, their colors were generally the same as the color of the instruments, i.e., gold or silver. The mouthpieces thus tended to blend into the instruments.
A common problem with prior metal mouthpieces was that they were susceptible to damage from rough usage. For example, dropping a metal mouthpiece shank on a hard surface required repairs to remove the resulting dents. If a prior metal mouthpiece were dropped on the rim face, the plating was invariably scratched or chipped. Again, the mouthpiece had to undergo expensive replating and repolishing. The cost of repairing a damaged metal mouthpiece was high in relation to its original cost.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,697 describes a training mouthpiece for brass wind musical instruments. The mouthpiece of the U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,697 patent has a transparent wall for viewing the musician's lips. The wall has a constant thickness so as to minimize visual distortion. Although suitable for teaching beginning students, the functional shape of the mouthpiece of the U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,697 patent made it impractical for use by advanced musicians.
Despite the wide variety of mouthpieces currently available for brass wind musical instruments, there nevertheless remains room for further developments to them.